Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Building

Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Headquarters

The Hong Kong Shanghai Bank headquarter building (officially HSBC Main Building) is located along the southern side of Statue Square, in Central, at the location of the old City Hall, Hong Kong (built 1869, demolished 1933).

The previous HSBC building was built in 1935 and demolished to make way for the current building. The address remains as 1 Queen's Road Central, Central. One can reach it at 5-minute walk from Exit K of Central MTR Station or from the Star Ferry Pier.

History of Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Bldg

Poster for promoting radio exercise during the Japanese Occupation. The second Hongkong Bank building on the left is flying the Japanese flag.
The first HSBC (then known as the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank) building was built in 1886 on the present site. It was demolished and rebuilt in 1935; for a period of time after completion it had been the tallest building between San Francisco and Cairo.

By the 1970s the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank had outgrown its headquarters; departments were scattered into offices all over Central Hong Kong, and it was obvious that such a "solution" to the space limitations could not continue indefinitely. In 1978 the bank decided to tear down its headquarters and rebuild it again.

The current Hong Kong Shanghai Bank building was finished on 18th November, 1985. At the time, it was the most expensive building in the world (c.a.HK$5.2 billion, roughly US$668 million).

Design of Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Bldg

The new building was designed by the British architect Norman Foster. From the concept to completion, it took 6 years (1979-1985).

The building is a 180-meter high building of 47 storeys and four basement levels. The building has a module design consisting of five steel modules prefabricated in the UK and shipped to Hong Kong. 30,000 tonnes of steel and 4,500 tonnes of aluminium were used.

It was an urban legend that the building's modular design enables it to be dismantled and moved, if there was any possibility of a disrupted handover to the People's Republic of China.

Feng Shui

The early British settlers in Hong Kong had an interest in Feng Shui, thus, most of the earliest buildings in Hong Kong and many buildings constructed thereafter were built with the philosophies of Feng Shui in mind.

The Chinese and even the British believe that those who have a direct view of a body of water, whether it is a river, a sea or an ocean, are more likely to prosper than those who do not (water is strongly associated with wealth in Fung Shui terms).

The HSBC building has a wide open area (the Statue Square) in front of it, with no other buildings blocking its view of Victoria Harbour; thus, it is considered to have "good feng shui".

Photo: Poster for promoting radio exercise during the Japanese Occupation. The second Hongkong Bank building on the left is flying the Japanese flag.

Even though the Hong Kong Government is proposing extending the existing coastline further out into the harbour in its latest land reclamation project, it will still set aside space so that no new developments will block the HSBC Building's view of the harbour. (It has been said that the HSBC is guaranteed its view of the harbour by the government in an agreement.)

Characteristics of the HSBC Hong Kong Headquarters

The main characteristic of HSBC Hong Kong headquarter is its absence of internal supporting structure.

Another one is that natural sunlight is the major source of lighting inside the building. There is a bank of giant mirrors at the top of the atrium, which can reflect natural sunlight into the atrium and hence down into the plaza.

Through the use of natural sunlight, this design helps a lot in conserving energy. Besides, sun shades are provided on the external facades to avoid direct sunlight going into the building and to reduce heat gain.

Instead of fresh water, sea water is used for toilet flushing and as coolant for the air-conditioning system.

All flooring is made from lightweight movable panels, under which you can find out a comprehensive network of power, telecommunication and air-conditioning systems. Hence installation of equipments or computer terminals become far easier.

Because of the urgency to complete, the construction of the building highly relied on off-site prefabrication. Components were manufactured all over the world. For example, the structural steel came from Britain; the glass, aluminium cladding and flooring came from the United States while the service modules came from Japan.

The inverted ‘va’ segments of the suspension trusses spanning the construction at double-height levels is the most obvious characteristic of the building. It consists of the eight groups of four aluminium-clad steel columns which ascend from the foundations up through the core structure, and the five levels of triangular suspension trusses which are locked into these masts.

HSBC Hong Kong Lion statues

Two bronze lion statues are located in front of the building. The statues were cast in Shanghai in 1935 and brought to Hong Kong.

Like the other statues of Statue Square, the two lion statues were displaced to Japan for melting by the then Japanese administration during World War II. They were rediscovered at the end of the war there, and brought back to their original location.

Bullet impacts from the Battle of Hong Kong in WWII are still visible on the statues. One of the lion statues had a small explosive embedded in it and was only discovered and removed by police's explosive unit in the early 1990s.

From a "Feng Shui" point of view, the two bronze lion statues in front of the HSBC headquarter are believed to contribute to the steady revenue of the bank. Although even in Asia, not every architect believes in Feng Shui, most of their customers do.

The original pair of lions are kept at a museum in Shanghai. The lions at HSBC Hong Kong Headquarters are the second pair. A third pair is kept in HSBC Headquarters in London, and a fourth pair is located at its branch in Shanghai.

The left lion - the one with the mouth open - is named Stephen, after the general manager of Hong Kong branch A. G. Stephen; and the right is named Stitt, after the general manager of Shanghai branch at the time.

The Headquarters of HSBCat night

In 2003, the Hong Kong Tourism Board has developed a harbour lighting plan called "A Symphony of Lights" , a large-scale multimedia show featuring lighting, laser, music, and occasionally special pyrotechnics effects during festivals, in order to promote tourism in Hong Kong. The show is based on the illumination of key buildings on the Hong Kong Island side, and is best viewed from the Kowloon side across the Victoria Harbour.

The HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building is one of the participating buildings in the show.

The building has been installed with 716 intelligent lighting units, including 450 colour changing fluorescent fixtures in the glass stairwells, Martin Exterior 600's and 200 fixtures on five levels, 8 search lights, and over one kilometre of LED lightings around the top.

Completed by mid-December 2003, the cost of installation is estimated to be HK$5.5 million.

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